Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • SPRING 2016 • sai-national.org 24 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z As an encore in his recitals, my late brother, concert pianist Malcolm Frager, oen played Hungarian Rhapsody No. 8 in F Sharp Minor by Franz Liszt. Remembering these performances made my visits to this composer's museum in 2001, 2004, and 2014 even more special. e Franz Liszt Memorial Museum and Research Center in Budapest, Hungary opened in 1986, the centennial of his death. Located a short walk from the famed Hungarian State Opera House, the museum houses instruments, photos, personal memorabilia, books, and scores belonging to this remarkable composer. He wore several other hats, as well: concert pianist, teacher, author, transcriber, and conductor. Born in 1811 in Doborján, Hungary (part of Austria since World War II), Liszt, the only renowned Hungarian composer of the 19 th century, spent many years living outside of Hungary; he spoke four other languages but very little Hungarian! e museum is located in the flat where he lived the final six years of his life. e rooms have been reconstructed based on photographs taken during the time he was living there rent-free when he was serving as both President and Professor at the Academy of Music. e study bedroom has a unique desk, a gi from Ludwig Bösendorfer, with a three-octave keyboard; today Bösendorfer manufactures pianos with 97 or 92 keys, as well as ones with 88. Liszt used this mini-piano for composing, checking chords and fingerings, and practicing rapid scales. Also in the room by his bed is a narrow, desk-like kneeling prie-dieu or prayer bench. Liszt was always very religious and earlier in his life had even lived in a monastery. In 1865 he received tonsure, the traditional monk haircut. On a small table is Alajos Strobl's 1864 bronze replica of Liszt's right hand. Displayed in a nearby glass case are 300 of the 2500 books and scores in his library, all stamped "e Estate of Franz Liszt." By the entry, are photographs of his parents, as well as Countess Marie d'Agoult, whom he never married but who was the mother of his three children. His daughter Cosima was first married to one of her father's students, renowned German conductor Hans von Bülow, and her second husband was Richard Wagner. (ere is a Wagner Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland in a house where the couple lived.) Another photo on this wall is of Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, his Russian mistress whom he wished to marry on his 50 th birthday. At the last moment, however, because of the pressure from Carolyne's husband, a Russian nobleman, as well as pressure from Tsar Alexander II, the Vatican refused to grant the required annulment so that the couple could wed. e middle room of the museum is the former dining room with exhibits that rotate annually. No photos exist to show exactly how it looked when Liszt ate meals there from restaurants. A Visit with Liszt A WORLD OF MUSIC A World of Music A World of Music At top, the entrance of the museum looking into a bedroom. At left, the composer himself.

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